A weekly summary of news from the syndicated newspaper/web column, The Canadian Report, by Jim Fox.

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Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Prime minister welcomes first Syrian refugee arrivals

Canada
column for Sunday, Dec. 13/15

THE CANADIAN REPORT

(c) By
Jim Fox

“You are home – welcome home,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in
greeting the first planeload of Syrian refugees to Canada.

Trudeau
and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne were at Toronto’s Pearson International
Airport as the first military flight of 163 Syrians arrived from Beirut.

The
new Liberal government said it will resettle 25,000 refugees escaping Syria’s civil
war by the end of February.

Upon arrival, they were given winter clothing and housed in an airport
hotel before being transported this weekend to sponsored housing in British
Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.

During
processing in Toronto and Montreal, the new arrivals are being given Social
Insurance Numbers so they can work, government health-insurance cards for
“free” medical care and become permanent residents.

First to be greeted was Kevork Jamkossian, his wife Georgina
Zires and 16-month-old daughter, Madeleine, clutching a teddy bear given
to her by Wynne.

“We
suffered a lot but now we feel as if we got out of hell and we came to
paradise,” he said.

---

There are calls for the Trump Tower in Toronto and Vancouver to be
renamed over remarks by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to ban
Muslims from entering the U.S.

Toronto
city councilor Josh Matlow and Brent Toderian, a former planner for Vancouver,
lead the demands to reject the Trump brand name.

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said he has invited Trump to visit the city’s
Canadian Museum for Human Rights for some insight into tolerance and
multiculturalism.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton visited Winnipeg last
January and called on Canada to continue fighting the “ideology of hate” and
extremist propaganda that fuels terrorism.

---

News
in brief:

-
Canadians will be looked on as “cowards” should the new Liberal government pull
out of the combat mission in the Middle East, the opposition Conservatives say.
Prime Minister Trudeau said the government will withdraw its fighter jets and concentrate
on humanitarian measures including training local forces. If so, “they would be
seen on the world stage as cowards,” said Conservative Kellie Leitch.

-
Safeguards, such as higher down payments, are being put in place by the federal
government to ensure stability in the housing market. Homebuyers will have to
make at least a 10-percent down payment for houses costing more than $500,000
but lower-priced properties can continue with 5-percent down. Financial
institutions will also have new capital requirements to keep pace with the
growing risk of real estate markets.

---

Facts and figures:

The
Canadian dollar has slumped to 72.79 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns
$1.3736 in Canadian funds, before bank and credit card exchange fees.

The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate remains at 0.5 percent while the
prime-lending rate is 2.7 percent.

-
There were massive traffic tie-ups in downtown Toronto Wednesday as hundreds of
taxi drivers protested the competing ride-hailing Uber service. Cabbies blocked
streets to demand the city enforce its bylaws. Mayor John Tory called the
action “dangerous and disruptive” and said the city is working on updating laws
governing such services.

-
After weeks of protest, the Alberta government approved a controversial farm
safety bill. Farmers and ranchers believe the legislation that specifies
workers’ compensation and health and safety rules will hamper their operations.
The bill was approved after amendments to exempt families and neighbors where
the farm doesn’t have paid workers.

-
There are concerns about Canada’s primary maple syrup industry due to warmer El
Nino weather. Production has declined the past two years and next year could be
even worse, said University of Guelph food researcher Sylvain Charlebois. The
impact would hit Quebec, the world’s dominant maple syrup producer, Ontario,
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, he said.